Save The Date--Details of F3 Americas series to be announced Thursday, October 19th at Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, TX

9/16/2017 3:42:00 PM

Another step toward alignment with a globally recognized racing development structure will become much clearer on October 19th in Austin, TX, when the details of the new F3 Americas racing series will be announced, featuring an all-new F3-FIA* spec race car.

With the phenomenal growth of the Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda that debuted in 2016, F4 series competitors are looking forward to the next level of open-wheel competition that continues affordability, modern technology, and the ability to obtain FIA Super License points. The F4 U.S. series' final two races of 2017 will run during the F1 weekend activities at COTA, and the series champion will be invited to attend the Formula 1 Awards banquet.

This new F3 race car will feature an all-new, state-of-the-art, U.S.-designed and built Ligier Crawford chassis, developed by Onroak, and will be powered by a 270-horsepower Honda Performance Development version of the new Honda Civic® Type-R® turbocharged K20 motor (a non-turbocharged version is used in the F4 U.S. Championship). The new F3 Americas series will continue running on proven Pirelli tires developed for this series.

The F3 Americas series aligns with the global FIA development ladder philosophy of using common components to provide a cost-efficient, reliable, and powerful racing structure as drivers ascend through the levels on their way to U.S. or global racing success. The announcement event on October 19th will unveil the F3 car and provide preliminary vehicle specifications, as well as information on vehicle availability and ordering information.

"SCCA Pro Racing's introduction of an FIA F3 race series is a great opportunity for our partners and SCCA Pro Racing to reset the current paradigm of open wheel racing in North America," said Steve Oseth, Vice President/General Manager of SCCA Pro Racing. "Its introduction, combined with the steps above and below the F3 series, will work to greatly lower the running costs of open-wheel race cars."

Art St. Cyr, President, Honda Performance Development, adds: "Our grassroots racing engines have provided the basis for many top-level racers and we're excited to continue offering the affordable and reliable Honda K20 Type-R engine as part of this series. It also helps to showcase the ability of our grassroots racing programs to support racing skills development, as the competitors progress through higher levels of engine power."

Max Crawford, General Manager of Onroak Automotive North America, notes that "The F3 race series will feature the next generation of all-new FIA race cars, the Ligier Crawford JS F3, designed and manufactured in the United States, at Onroak Automotive North America's headquarters in Denver, North Carolina. "The Ligier Crawford JS F3 is the next step up from Onroak Automotive NA's successful F4 car. The ability to design, manufacture and service the cars in the U.S. has always been part of Onroak Automotive NA's commitment to the F3 series. The design team in Denver, NC, has worked comprehensively with the FIA on implementing all the requirements for the new generation of F3 cars, and this has enabled us to produce the new car at a level of performance and safety that leads the world."

Orazio Mastracchio, NAFTA Motorsport Manager for Pirelli NA states: "With more than 100 years of Pirelli motorsport experience and development for the drivers of powerful sports cars, sports coupes and high performance luxury sedans, we're excited to be a part of this new F3 series, which directly ties into the learning and success we've had at the premier levels of motorsports."

*Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile

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For further information on the event/SCCA Pro Racing: Amy Greenway (765) 621-3554agrenway@sccapro.com

About SCCA Pro Racing: SCCA Pro Racing Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sports Car Club of America, Inc. - a 60,000-member organization dedicated to motorsports events. SCCA Pro Racing provides full-service organization, operation and sanction for numerous professional racing series, documented within this web site. Each series holds events on high-profile race weekends and annually crowns Champions. SCCA Pro Racing formally became a subsidiary of SCCA in 1993, and is a voting member of the Automobile Competition Committee of the United States (ACCUS) - the FIA delegate for this country.

About Honda Performance Development: Honda Performance Development, Inc., (HPD) is Honda's racing company in North America and is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. Founded in 1993, HPD is the technical operations center for Honda's high-performance racing programs. HPD specializes in the design and development of race engines, chassis and performance parts, and technical/race support. We also offer parts and race support to Honda and Acura grassroots motorsports racers, and are expanding our support of racing series and programs that make Honda racing products available to all racing styles, from karting and Quarter Midgets to the highest levels of pro racing.

About Onroak/Ligier Crawford: Founded in 2012, Onroak Automotive is a race car manufacturer established in France, North Carolina, and Malaysia. Since 2013, Onroak Automotive designs and produces Ligier sports cars such as the Ligier JS P2, Ligier JS P3 or more recently the Ligier JS P217 and Ligier JS P4. Daytona 24h winner, Le Mans 24h winner and World Endurance championship winner, Onroak Automotive in North America is based in Denver, North Carolina. Supporting racing series and teams in DPi, LM P2, LM P3 and F4 in the United States, Onroak Automotive North America is expanding its production capacity in North Carolina to build the Ligier Crawford JS F3 and to reach the highest level of performance, safety and reliability for the FIA F3 Americas series.

About Pirelli Tire N.A.: Founded in 1872, Pirelli & C. SpA is the fifth largest tire manufacturer in the world in terms of sales. Present in over 160 countries, Pirelli has 22 manufacturing sites and employs approximately 38,000 people around the world. Pirelli is a leading producer of premium tires due to its commitment to R&D. Successfully competing in motorsport since 1907, Pirelli is currently the exclusive supplier of the Formula 1 championship, the Superbike world championship, and many single marquee championships around the world.